SESSION 11: EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION AND FINAL TASK
EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION:
HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS WHICH YOU CAN THINK ABOUT AND TRY ASKING YOURSELF BEFORE YOU COME TO OUR DISCUSSION ON WEDNESDAY:
a) Had you heard about the Tottenham Riots in London before reading the text? Did these riots worry you at that time?
b) After reading the text, do you have a clearer idea of these riots?
c) Are the London Riots similar to the ones that took place in Paris some years ago?
d) From your point of view, what are the causes of the London Riots?
e) Do you think violence is common to the human race, and specially when we are adolescents or young adults?
f) Do we have similar cases of riots in Spain?
g) Is the 'indignados' movement in Spain similar in any way to the London Riots? What are the differences?
h) The author compares the London Riots with scenes of violence he has seen on TV in Africa, The Middle East and the Balkans. In what way are they similar? In what way are they different?
i) The author talks about reports about the social consequences of multi-generational urban poverty and the sociology of gang membership on UK estates. Do you think these two issues are common to all big cities in the world?
j) Think of the different groups of people who participated in the Tottenham riots and try to ask yourself in what way were they involved in the riots.
k) Do you think these riots set a bad example for adolescents in the neighbourhood?
Read this newspaper editorial for an overview of what happened in the UK riots:
PREPARING A DISCUSSION IS FUNDAMENTAL:
THIS MUST BE DONE IN TWO DIRECTIONS:
FIRST, YOU NEED TO LEARN NEW VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO USE FOR THE DISCUSSION.
SECONDLY, YOU HAVE TO PREPARE THE TOPIC BY LOOKING UP INFORMATION IN THE INTERNET, BOOKS, ENCYCLOPAEDIAS.
THIS WAY YOU WILL FEEL MUCH MORE CONFIDENT AND AT THE SAME TIME YOU WILL HAVE MUCH MORE TO TALK ABOUT.
FINAL TASK:
HERE IS ONE FINAL TASK THAT YOU MAY DO IN ORDER TO COVER THE FOUR SKILLS YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON WHEN LEARNING A LANGUAGE: LISTENING, READING, SPEAKING AND WRITING.
Write a composition and leave it in the blog as a comment to Session 11, I will edit it in the blog so that everybody can learn from other people´s opinions. Choose one of these two options:
- London Riots and their consequences. Express your opinion.
